Tag Archives: Southern Literature

The Autobiogaphy of Miss Jane Pittman

Posted on January 13, 2021 by smellincoffee

The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman259 pages© 1982 Ernest Gaines A young girl carries water for both exhausted rebels and the jubilant army chasing them.  An elderly lady who has seen sorrow after sorrow visited on herself and her loved … Continue reading →

Posted in Classics and Literary, Reviews | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

The Old Man and the Boy

Posted on January 11, 2021 by smellincoffee

The Old Man and the Boy© 1957 Robert Ruark303 pages Of the various titles on my Classics Club Strikes back list, The Old Man and the Boy is something of an outlier; I’d venture to say that most people haven’t … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments

Where the Crawdads Sing

Posted on January 24, 2020 by smellincoffee

Where the Crawdads Sing © 2018 Delia Owens 368 pages ‘There are some who can live without wild things, and some who cannot.’”  – Aldous Leopold, The Sand County Almanac They called her the Marsh Girl. Abandoned in a decaying … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged , , , , | 9 Comments

A Lesson Before Dying

Posted on November 15, 2019 by smellincoffee

A Lesson Before Dying © 1993 Ernest Gaines 256 pages “And that’s all we are Jefferson, all of us on this earth, a piece of drifting wood. until we – each of us, individually- decide to become something else. I … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Mockingbird Songs

Posted on March 14, 2019 by smellincoffee

Mockingbird Songs: My Friendship with Harper Lee©  2017 Wayne Flynt251 pages When I read Poor but Proud by Wayne Flynt some years ago, I never imagined I’d meet the author, let alone help him carry in boxes of books for … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

The Memory of Old Jack

Posted on October 24, 2018 by smellincoffee

The Memory of Old Jack© 1974 Wendell Berry223 pages “Now Old Jack, who was the last of that generation that Wheeler looked to with such fililial devotion, is dead. And Wheeler is fifty-two years old, as old as the century, … Continue reading →

Posted in historical fiction, Reviews | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments

Visiting Harper Lee

Posted on May 21, 2017 by smellincoffee

On Saturday I visited the boyhood home of Hank Williams in Georgiana, and then decided — since I was in the neighborhood — to drive a bit further into the woods and go to Monroeville, the hometown of Harper Lee. … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

The Unvanquished

Posted on March 22, 2017 by smellincoffee

The Unvanquished© 1938 William Faulkner254 pages Years ago in a ninth-grade literature class,  I chose to read a book by William Faulkner for a class project on the basis that he was a southern writer. My teacher cautioned me against … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

Posted on February 25, 2017 by smellincoffee

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings© 1969 Maya Angelou304 pages I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is an autobiography in the form of a novel, following a young woman’s coming of age as she journeys from a small … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Casualties

Posted on January 22, 2015 by smellincoffee

Casualties: A Novel of the Civil War© 2010 David Rothstein465 pages The year is 1863, and Tom Connor just survived the Battle of Gettysburg. His kid brother didn’t, though, and agonized emotionally he is looking forward to a Christmas furlough … Continue reading →

Posted in historical fiction, Reviews | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment